BELLEVUE What began in 1957 as a small credit union serving railroaders working for the old Nickel Plate Road has grown into a financial institution with $136 million in assets.

In addition, Firelands Federal Credit Union, once dwarfed by much larger banks and thrifts, has become the largest financial institution based in Bellevue, a city of 8,200.

Thanks to mergers and an expansion to include a larger membership base, Firelands assets have doubled in eight years and tripled in the last 15. And during that time frame, a larger bank and a larger thrift were acquired by out-of-town institutions. I think the fact that we are well-known, our employees are well-known, and we re able to participate in community functions are all advantages, Firelands President Kevin Wadsworth said.

The credit union offers a wide range of services, from personal loans to mortgages to credit cards and IRA accounts.

It has begun to build some commercial business.

I think they have picked up business accounts, said Gary Strayer, a Bellevue businessman who was a credit union director in the early 1990s. They re pretty aggressive.

Mr. Strayer, owner of the Strayer Insurance Agency and Gary J. Strayer Realty/GMAC Realty, said he remains very much a customer, both personally and with his business accounts. They do a lot of home mortgages, a lot of second mortgages, he said.

The institution began 48 years ago as the Bellevue Terminal Credit Union, at a time when Bellevue was the hub for the Nickel Plate, now part of the Norfolk Southern rail system. When Mr. Wadsworth went to work for the institution in 1979, its assets were about $8 million.

The renamed Bellevue Federal Credit Union later merged with and absorbed a number of other credit unions in the region. It took the Firelands name in 1999 after a merger with the former Norwalk Area Credit Union.

This year it absorbed Crawford Community Credit Union in Galion and now has branches in Norwalk, Galion, and Bucyrus, plus the main office and headquarters in Bellevue.

The company plans to build a branch in Bucyrus next year to replace the existing one.

Because of the mergers, membership is pushing 20,000, he said. The credit union showed a nearly $1 million profit in 2004, and, according to filings with the National Credit Union Administration, it is on track for similar performance this year.

Bellevue s geography is somewhat unusual: The city straddles the Sandusky-Huron county line, and abuts Erie and Seneca counties. The institution is allowed to take customers from Huron and Crawford counties, and parts of the other three counties. Until about a decade ago, the credit union was small compared to other home-grown institutions. But in 1996, Union Bank and Savings Co., with assets of $91 million, was acquired by Croghan Bancshares Inc., of Fremont. And in 2001, Industrial Savings and Loan Association, with assets of $423 million, was acquired by United Community Financial Corp., of Youngstown. That leaves just the First National Bank of Bellevue, with assets of about $100 million.

For now, Firelands mergers are over. There s nothing for us on the immediate horizon, said Mr. Wadsworth.

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Contact Homer Brickey at: homerbrickey@theblade.com or 419-724-6129.

First Published October 24, 2005, 1:08 p.m.